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Lentil Soup with Prunes and Apricots

With the autumn weather upon us here in southwestern Ontario, I've been inspired to make more warming soups of late. This sweet and sour soup is adapted from a unique little cookbook entitled Small Bites. Once the chopping is done, it simply simmers on the stove top, allowing you time to prepare the rest of your meal. I served it with polenta and mushroom ragout for a hearty, nourishing and warming delicious dinner. It's a fairly thick soup, especially if you serve it the next day, so feel free to add more stock to suit your tastes. If you are not using vegetable stock, increase the amount of salt and add a few teaspoons of celery seed. If desired, garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add the onions, carrots, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper, and sauté for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are softened. Add the prunes and dried apricots, ground spices and cinnamon sticks. Continue to sauté for a few more minutes and then pour in the stock or water. Stir in the lentils and split peas, bring to a boil, and immediately reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour or until the lentils are very soft. Stir occasionally.

Now add the lemon juice, fresh mint and most of the fresh parsley, and taste for seasoning. Discard the cinnamon sticks and purée a small portion of the soup if desired. Serve hot garnished with the remaining parsley.

3 comments:

niki
said...

Lisa I think we have a telepathic connection haha, I was clearing out our kitchen cupboards as we are moving at the end of November. I came across a 1kg packet of unopened prunes. I was wondering what to do with them. Now I know :-) I am going to make this tonight, I have all the ingredients. I will post and let you know how we enjoyed it.Thanks again, I have refered some of my friends and I have wonderful feedback from them about your blog.Thanks again love niki

Based in London, Ontario, a veteran vegetarian for 23 years serves up a collection of delicious culinary creations from her kitchen, with an emphasis on spicy Indian dishes and whole foods. If you want to know what sensible vegetarians eat, Lisa's Kitchen is the place to be.